


the demon purrs

by charjace



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Demon AU, M/M, My take on witches and demons, Witch AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27280045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charjace/pseuds/charjace
Summary: there are new comers at the Magic Couffaine House, and the witch hunters are becoming more aggressive
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine, Emilie Agreste/Nathalie Sancoeur
Kudos: 29





	the demon purrs

**Author's Note:**

> an attempt was made. this is a rough take on a way demons and witches work
> 
> also an og character bc luka deserves friends that aren't in juleka's class... even though this is an au
> 
> all other characters are mentioned

The sun was shining brightly as he walked down the dirt path, he was on his way home, where his friends would be waiting for him, as they almost always did every Friday. The small village he worked in, and the one his friends lived in didn’t like Magic, or Magic users so they always would meet up at his home. It was just on the outskirts of the town, hidden away from sight in a groove  surrounded by the forest on either side and back of the house, unless you’re looking for it. People come and visit, wanting spells and potions – they've heard of the Magic  Couffaine house. It was treated like a rumour, as if it were a tale and if you were desperate enough for it, you’d find it. If you believed in the Magic, it’s shows you the way to it. Some even seek shelter, that’s how he’s meet most of his friends, and how  Juleka , his sister, meet her girlfriend. But even his sister couldn’t stay long, and she left with her girlfriend – Rose from next village over, a few years ago, he was eighteen, so their mother was happy to let her go enjoy her adult life. They do come by and visit for weeks at a time, and it’s like she never left – but he is happy for her. Which leaves only him, his mother and his friend Chloe living in the home.

His father, years ago when he was barely even ten years old, while rightfully so, called his mother a Witch as well as his own children – outing them out to the village, and they were almost killed by the mob of angry people. Lead by their own father, it scarred him more than he ever let on. Seeing his own father look at him like he was  _ evil _ , like he was some kind of monster – like his younger sister and mother were. There was no love in his father’s eyes that night as he glared and yelled, running his family out of their home, out of their village.

A few weeks later, they had heard the news, that his father had been killed in the middle of the night. No one caught the killer, and it was rumoured that it was one of the demons that live off in the forest, no one knows where the demons actually come from – just that you can find them from time to time coming out of the woods. It’s even rumoured, all the animals that roam the village are actually the demons, but no one has ever had enough proof to claim it to be true, so no one takes actions on the animals – even if they’re known to go back to the forest. Glowing eyes were seen from time to time, there are times where Luka has felt eyes watching him as he walks down the dirt path, which is lined by the forest, and he knows Chloe has, and  Marinette has commented on it a few times too, and a lot of his friends have. Yet, they just brush it off, not bothering to go into the forest because even  _ they _ are cautious of the things that could be in there.

Smiling as he reached his home, Luka opens the door and is greeted by the smell of  Marinette’s baking, and the soft chatter of his friends. Walking into the small kitchen, he spots  Marinette taking out the tray of cookies before placing them on top of the oven for them to cool down. A ginger cat jumps up onto her shoulder, “Hello  Tikki ,” Luka says, moving close to  Marinette to give the cat a pet, “What’s this week’s flavour?”

Tikki purrs a little at Luka’s movements before jumping down and rubbing herself against  Marinette’s legs, “Simple Chocolate Chip today. I’ll be handing them out in a few minutes, once they’ve called down enough. A few new people came by today, Chloe sorted them into rooms. They looked spooked; something was chasing them.”

“Can’t wait to eat them,” Luka says with a smile upon his lips, the smell of the cookies making him feel at home. That was the beauty of his home, it was open to anyone who needed a home, there were plenty of rooms (many made by magic to help those in need), the house itself liked to accustom to the people who stepped through its threshold. “I’ll go introduce myself to them.”

“Also,  _ here _ ,”  Marinette says, pulling out a box from her bag and handing it over to Luka. “ Tikki has been catching them, I’ve given half already to Nino for  Wayzz . These are for Sass.”

“Thank you,” Luka replies, giving a small smile towards  Marinette as he grabs hold of the box. He places it with all his other food he uses to feed Sass with. Sass was his snake. Everyone one of his friends had a pet, commonly called a familiar, or well the ones that were witches. He and Nino have snakes, Nino’s was a nice dark green python, with light green patches and Luka’s was longer, and a light blue that matches his hair and a bright blue tongue, and black tail.  Marinette’s is  Tikki , cats were the more common  _ familiar. _ Juleka has a black cat named Ziggy, Luka’s friend and co-worker, Harmony also has a cat, her cat is black and white named Ethan. Pollen was Chloe’s golden retriever, and  Kaalki , a black lab belonged to Max. All of their friends weren’t witches,  Mylene and Ivan, from Rose’s village. Chloe’s girlfriend, Sabrina was also non-magical. Max’s best friend, Kim, and a pair of  Marinette’s friends Marc and Nathaniel are non-magical too, but they’re close enough that they allow them to know they’re magic. They trust them, the  _ house _ trusts them – and that is what matters.

When he enters the living area, Luka spots all of his friends who were talking – and  _ trying _ to engage the new comers who were huddled around each other, but they weren’t really talking. Three of the four, they had non-natural hair – instantly telling him that they were somewhere on the magical side of the world. It was a sign, a subtle sign that some witches use to let others know what they are without having to say it out loud. The people in village speculate it’s a sign, but they’ve got no proof as he,  Marinette , Harmony and  Juleka _ never _ let on what they were.

Carefully walking over to them, Luka gives a smile, “Welcome to Magic  Couffaine House. I’m Luka  Couffaine ,” He greets, keeping his voice in a nice calming tone. “If you don’t want to talk, you guys do not need too. We won’t force you, but we won’t ignore you either.”

“Luka, one of them is injured but he won’t let anyone touch him except his friends,” Chloe spoke, handing him the first aid box, that was filled with bandages and potions that help with injuries. He looks at her with a tilt of his head, “We’ve all tried, that one there,” Chloe points towards the female with short dark blue hair, it almost matches  Marinette’s , “Won’t let us near him either.”

Marinette comes in a few moments later, with the tray of cookies, holding them out to everyone who took one – and out to the new comers, who shook their heads. “We think a witch hunter is after them. Their hair indicates they might be witches.”

“Witch Hunters, hate them,” Luka mumbles, there are  _ very, very _ few people that Luka does hate. There are people he isn’t a fan of, but not many get to the point where he will say he hates them, but Witch Hunters, those have a very special spot – which he knows stems from his father’s hatred towards his own family, the disgust he saw in his father's eyes that night. “Can we at least get your names?”

“ Alix , I’m  Alix ,” The one with pink choppy hair answers after a few moments of silence, “ Kagami ,” Pointing towards the one with blue hair, then pointing to their friend with long orange and brown hair, “ Alya and this is Adrien,” Lastly pointing towards the blond male. “We’ll let you touch him, but  _ only _ you.”  Alix is now pointing towards Luka.

Nodding his head, Luka smiles a little and watches as the three others move slightly away from Adrien so that he could see the damage. There was a cut along the male’s arm, dark blood drying around the wound. “This might hurt a bit, but I have to clean it first okay Adrien.”

The blond male nods his head slightly, and with his other hand, reaches out for  Kagami who holds his hand. His eyes go shut as he squeezes tightly onto  Kagami’s hand when Luka places the cold liquid on his arm. A quick pain shooting through his arm, but he keeps his eyes shut – he can’t let them know what they  _ truly _ are, even witches tend to hate their kind despite the things they’ve done for them. Though, the group wouldn’t know it, it was meant to always be secret what they do. His mother had done something for a group of witches twelve years ago, but she and her wife never said what it was. They told him he will find out one day.

It’s been a week, since the four have found shelter in the  Couffaine household. Luka has noticed that they like to stay together, he wonders if they are young witches who found each other at a young age and have always been on the run. It would explain some of their behaviour, the way they’re guarded and how  _ careful _ they are with speaking about their lives  _ when _ they speak about it. The  _ only _ thing that tells him they may  _ not _ be witches is there isn’t a single familiar, not even for all four of them. They may just be runaway kids from bad homes, either way – it was a sad story, no matter what take  you pick.

Slowly, they opened themselves up to Chloe, as she too lives in the house, and Luka is sure, that if given time – they'd warm up to the rest of his friends, they were showing subtle signs when they came over today. His mother was set to return home tomorrow from her trip to  Juleka and Rose, it was late at night and everyone was asleep. Walking into the kitchen, Luka sees something outside nearing the magical border of the house, or someone, or more really - a group of people. 

Now, Luka has never meet or seen a demon in his life, they tend to stay in the forest and away from both the humans and witches, but he is sure that is who is standing outside of his home. There were four of them. Three of four seemed to have visible tails, and he isn’t sure if it’s horns or ears, but there was  _ something _ protruding from the top of each of their heads, and it looked like they were waiting for someone. Watching quietly, he was proven right when two other figures came out of the shadows and one of them went running towards them, engulfing the two new comers into a hug, feeling like he was intruding – Luka decided to go to bed, he knows the house won’t let them in if they were up to something bad.

“Mum! Mama!” He cried out at seeing his mother's walk towards him, arms open wide as they opened theirs. It’s been three weeks since he’s seen them, and he doesn’t know how long he has got with them now and when the next time he’ll be able to see them. “I missed you.”

“We missed you too Chat dear,” His mother, Emilie says, pressing a kiss to the top of her child’s head in between his ears before opening her arms up to the others, allowing them to hug her too. Her wife wasn’t much for affection unless it was her or Chat, but Emilie could provide enough for the four children herself. She hugs them tightly before pulling away, “And you three as well. Are you guys safe?”

“The bitch got Chat with an arrow, but we found the home you told us about,” Rena spoke, crossing her arms against her chest as she spoke. Her tail  _ swaying _ a little as her emotions spread through her mind. “We  _ are _ safe though.”

“You will need to stay there for the time being,” His other mother, Nathalie spoke, looking towards all the children. “He’s still after us, and we think they’re running through the village trying to find traces of you four. Especially you our dear Chat. Be careful, if you go to the village,  _ please _ go in pairs or with the boy, or his mother.”

“What about the blonde girl? Or his friends?”  Ryuko questions, her golden eyes glowing in the dark as she looked towards the parental figures in front of her.

“If they enter the house, you may go with them if you choose, but they must also escort you back. We don’t want to lose more of our young ones.” Emilie says, caressing her son’s face, looking lovingly towards all the young demons in front of her. “This man, he’s not getting what he wants so he’s going to take it, but I won’t let him. We demons swore to protect this village and its witches, as well as our own kind, this man endangers both.”

“What does he want? No one has ever told us. He’s been coming for years, but no one tells us. It’s only gotten worse the past two years,”  Bunnyx asks, their ears twitching – a sign they’re scared, even if they won’t show it on their face – their ears give them away. “And Rosella? Is she safe? Her girlfriend’s a witch but...”

“ Bunnyx , it’s all going to be fine. It’s for your safety we don’t tell you, once he’s no longer a threat – we'll let you know. I promise you this,” Nathalie answers, “Emilie, we have to go. The longer we stay, the more we’re likely to alert _ him _ to the children’s location. Rosella is on her way here; you need to let her know what we’ve said. We’re not sure if Madam A has told her everything.”

“Better safe to relay it twice, then not have it given at all,”  Ryuko comments, giving a quick nod of her head, understanding. She knows she’d rather be told something like this  _ twice _ , then risk never having heard it at all.

Emilie gives a small nod of her head, pressing kiss to each of the young demon’s foreheads with a promise to speak with them soon, before she and her wife leaves. The children quietly moving their way back into the home, and going to sleep curled up together on the bed in Chat’s room.

There is a loud noise coming from the kitchen that alerts Luka to the arrival of his mother, groaning he pulls his pillow over his head. He loves his mother; he does but she can be very loud at times that he just wants  _ peace _ and quiet. Another groan leaves his lips when his covers are pulled from him and he turns to see Chloe there. He was about to say something when a black cat came running into the room, “Ziggy!” Luka says brightly, and both his and Chloe’s eyes go wide and they rush out of the room.

In the living room,  Juleka was standing there with a few bags at her feet alongside her girlfriend, Rose. He can still hear his mother rummaging around in the kitchen. Luka engulfs his sister into a tight hug, lifting her in the air slightly. “So good to see you  Juls ,” Luka beams, putting his sister back onto the ground, before hugging Rose. “And you Rose. There are four people seeking shelter here, they’re on the shy side when it concerns new people.”

“So, don’t be offended if they don’t talk to you,” Chloe comments, and Pollen comes into the room asking for pats from her old friends, and Rose and  Juleka happily pet the dog. “It’s nice to see you two again. Missed you guys.” She presses kisses to each of their cheeks, Chloe wasn’t big on hugging but cheek kisses were more her thing.

“Luka, I’ve put in an order from your work and the  Dupain -Cheng bakery, can you pick it up in two hours?” His mother says walking into the room, smiling at her children. Loving it when all her children were under the same roof, it made it feel homier. “Harmony is working on it.”

The oldest  Couffaine child gave a nod of his head, he knew what that meant – it was something  _ magical.  _ They’re careful working with magic in the village, all of the witches are in fear of a witch hunt. Every witch is taught the tricks of the town to know where to go for the things they need for their potions and spells. Roisin Herbs, where Luka works helps supply the village’s witches with their herbs needed, while supplying the rest of the village with herbs for cooking. 

Everyone was up by the time Luka was getting ready to leave for the village. He had noticed how well the four new comers warmed up to Rose fast, maybe they were from the same village and she was a familiar face among the many new faces. If that were the case, then Luka is glad they’ve found someone who they knew before they were seemingly hunted. With his bag slung over his shoulder, he left the house. Outside, he noticed Adrien close by the border of the house barrier – it was invisible, so Luka just chalks it up to coincidence that Adrien is  _ just _ behind it. That was another thing he noticed, the four never really go further  _ out _ then the barrier, they tend to always stay within it and that was  _ if _ they go outside the house. It’s a little strange, but Luka doesn’t ever put much thought into it, no one can see the barrier – not even him or  Juleka , the only reason they know it’s there is because their mother told them they weren’t allowed to go past that edge until she was sure they were safe from harm. 

“Adrien? You okay there?” Luka muses, coming to stand next to the blond, giving him a smile.

“I want to see the village, but  Kagami ,  Alix and  Alya don’t want too,” There was something Adrien wasn’t saying, but Luka could see it in the other’s eyes when he looked at him.

“You don’t want to go alone?” Luka guesses, he’s not really looking for an answer to the question – he just figures it’s why neither of the four have gone out to the village. And Luka supposes he wouldn’t want to either if he had recently been hunted by a Witch Hunter. “I’m heading in now, if you want to go. I’m running a few errands for my mother.”

“I don’t want to intrude,” Adrien replies, green eyes casting down to the ground.

“You won’t be, it would be nice to have some company,” Luka reassures him with a smile, “Come on.”

Their first stop was a bakery,  _ Dupain _ _ -Cheng Bakery _ , it had lovely smells coming from it. The smells reminding him of the baking his mother would do, of him helping her once he was old enough to do so. Something he wishes he can do again with her, even if they make such a mess that they get scolded by his other mother. She always pretended to be angry with them, but they both could see the way she would always be fighting a smile at seeing her family so happy. Inside, they were greeted by  Marinette , who smiled widely and pulled out a box, “Heard  Juleka and Rose are here, hopefully I can catch them before they leave.”

“They’re staying awhile,” Luka answers, giving a smile in return and pulling out his payment for the baked goods. “I’m sure they’d love to see you. Talk to you later.”

“Be careful Luka, Lila has been around these parts,”  Marinette warns, a small scowl on her face at the thought of the other girl. “I think she and whoever she is with are staying a while this time. She came by today, trying to get me to admit.”

“Will do, thanks for the warning. You be safe too,” And with that, Luka and Adrien leave. 

A few steps out of bakery, Adrien questions, “Who is Lila?” Adrien takes note of how Luka slightly stiffens, but relaxes a moment later. He doesn’t say anything, not as they’re walking towards  _ Roisin Herbs _ , Adrien doesn’t ask again – he just waits.

“A witch hunter,” Luka says once they’ve stepped foot into  _ Roisin Herbs _ , the door shut behind them. “She’s been coming to this village for years, in search of witches. Mainly targeting  Marinette and my family.”

“Luka! Thought I could hear your lovely voice,” Harmony pipes up as she walks to the front of the shop, her dark green hair tied up in a high ponytail, and Ethan jumping up onto the counter, asking for pats from Luka, who happily pets the animal before it jumps down and circles around Adrien, rubbing against his legs. “You showing Adrien around town?” She asks, giving a small nod towards the male in question.

“Yeah, he wanted to see it but his friends didn’t,” Luka replies, and watches as Harmony pulls out a bag for Luka, who then pockets into his own bag before pulling out what he owes for the herbs. “Heard Lila is back, and who ever she answers too.”

Adrien watches as Harmony’s face goes from happy, to anger and there was a  _ pinch _ of sadness in her  mis -matched eyes. “Gabriel,” The name spoken with  _ venom _ as it falls past the female’s lips. “I saw him earlier; he was looking into the shop. It has to be _ him _ she is working for. Both are Witch Hunters.”

“W-Who is Gabriel?” Adrien asks, a soft voice spoken.

“Another Hunter. We  _ know _ he has killed, he killed Harmony’s brother around six years ago,” Luka informs. They’re  _ not _ sure about Lila, but they’ve heard the rumours, “He doesn’t come by often, unlike Lila who comes at least twice a year. We’ll head back, just to be safe. You stay safe, and you know where to go if you don’t feel safe.”

Harmony nodded her head, before turning around and heading into the back while the two boys exit, and make their way back home. When he was home, he tried to end his mother a message, he wants to know  _ man’s _ name, the one who was after his kind, who was after his people. Because there was suddenly these  _ Hunters _ in the village near where they sought shelter. He asked his mother to meet him just near the barrier of the house hold, he hopes at least  _ one _ of them would come to answer his questions.

It was a cool night, and Luka liked to lay in the grass sometimes, playing soft chords on the guitar he made. The moon was bright, shining down on him, illuminating the surrounding area. Sass was curled up next to him, asleep – which is why when his head snaps up, Luka stops his strumming and listens, he can’t hear anything but he looks to were Sass’s head is looking, watching the soft movement of his head and spots a black cat. Luka was about to tell Sass it was just Ziggy when he witnessed as the cat turned into a humanoid form, except – it wasn’t fully human looking. It must have been one of the demons from last night, but why was he here again? Luka didn’t understand, but he kept himself still. 

He didn’t want to alert the demon to his presence, there are  _ many _ stories about demons both good and bad, and Luka didn’t want to find out which ones were correct. He was closer this time and could see a few more details. This demon had a black tail, and black cat like ears on top of his blond messy hair. Clad in what Luka thought was a leather jacket and black pants. There seemed to be hints of a bright green coming off of each of his middle, he can’t see the demon’s face from where he was.

In the distance, he spotted someone coming out of the forest only for the bright blue eyes to look at  _ him _ , not the demon before fleeing back into the forest.

“Mama!” The demon shouts and was about to run towards them, but stopped as he looked down at the ground, at the barrier before taking a step back and sitting on the ground, pulling his legs into his chest, holding them. It looked like they were crying, with the way his shoulders lifted and fell. 

Heart-breaking at the sight, and feeling slightly guilty for probably being the reason the demons didn’t meet, Luka slowly stands up and  _ carefully  _ walks over to the demon. Sass slithering his way at his feet. The demon must have heard his footsteps as he quickly turned his head to Luka.

Luka was  _ stunned _ to see bright green eyes looking at him, bright green tears falling down his face. The top half of the demon’s face was pure black fading into a metallic green, almost like a mask on his face that was otherwise lightly tanned. Now that he is closer, he can see the creatures hands the green fingers fading into tan skin, and his other fingers matching the pure black of his clothing and forehead. In the middle of his forehead, there was a bright green paw print. He watches as the demon wipes at his face, “Hey, do you want to come inside? You look lonely, and you can stay if you want. Never had a demon in the house before, or well, never meet one before now. I’m Luka.”

The demon nods his head slightly, giving a soft smile, “Chat, I’m Chat. C-Can I go in my cat form? You know, just in case others in the house see me?”

“If that is what would make you comfortable, you may,” Luka answers, and watches as the demon then shifts into the form of a cat. Sass was already making his way inside, and Luka wasn’t far behind, with Chat walking by his side. Inside the house, Luka walked around to see if a new room appeared for Chat to sleep in, but no new room appeared. Frowning slightly, he walks to his room, sitting his guitar against the wall and closes the door behind him after he watched the cat walk in the room. Sass was asleep already in his little corner. “You can sleep here tonight.”

Luka takes off his shirt, placing it into the small basket in the corner of his room – he needed to do laundry tomorrow, it was his turn to do so. Noticing movement, he saw that the cat had turned away from him, as if to give him privacy, of course so he quickly changes into some sleep pants before climbing into his bed. Patting the bed, he says, “You can sleep up here Chat.”

Hesitantly, the cat eyes the bed before jumping up on the bed – curling itself close to Luka’s chest, and not able to help himself, Luka runs his fingers through the soft black fur. Smiling a little sleepily as he hears a soft purr coming from the demon, and he’s drifting off into sleep.

_ Her children were asleep, she had covered them in her jacket to keep them warm for the night. Running her fingers through her young daughter’s hair, she lets a few tears fall down her face. They had not long ago fallen asleep after the ordeal they had been through that day. She had done her best to ward of the Hunters, putting up spells to slow them down so she could get her children to safety, that was what mattered  _ them _ being safe and they were no longer safe in their village. The Hunters turned around once they were satisfied that she and her children were far enough away from their village. _

_ There was a rustling sound coming from her left, and she was quick to put her guard up, only letting it down slightly when she saw a cat running towards them in a playful way, as if it were playing a game of tag, followed by a fox and a couple of bunnies. It looked like a mix-matched group of animals, but they came close and slowed their running to soft steps, attentively walking towards her children. Apart of her mind was telling her that the rumours around town are correct, those animals that run around the place are the demons that live in the forest, but as she watches as the animals gently rest their heads on her children as if wanting to keep them warm – to shelter them, she can’t bring herself to shoo them away. If they were demons, they seemed to want to care for her children. _

_ “Chat? Rena?  _ _ Bunnyx _ _? Rosella?” A woman’s voice calls out, and the animals all lift their heads to look towards the sound. She followed their eyes, and spotted a woman who was rather tall with long blonde hair. Her eyes were green, she could tell that even from here because they glowed slightly in the dark, the woman was moving so gracefully close to them. As she got closer, she could see her face was covered in a pure white mask that rounds out under her eyes with a nice green fading into it. On top of her head was a pair of white cat ears. A nice long light blue dress fitting her slender frame – this demon was  _ nothing _ like her. There seemed to be a red dragon curled around the demon’s shoulder. _

_ Dragons were rare, even in the forest and in tales – it made her wonder. “Oh, my...” The demon says, once she is close enough. “Who hurt you?” _

_ “It doesn’t matter,”  _ _ Anarka _ _ replies, wiping at the tears that were threating to spill from her eyes. Her kids maybe asleep, but she didn’t feel like she could cry. Not now, maybe later. _

_ “It does my dear witch,” Voice soft as the demon spoke, kneeling herself down in front of the woman. _

_ “My husband, the kids father killed my familiar before setting our village on a witch hunt for us. He ran us out of our home. I don’t know where to go, the next village is a good two weeks away. I don’t have food; my kids will starve and... I don’t know what to do.” _

_ A frown forms upon the demon’s lips, she whispers something into the dragon’s ear before helping the dragon fly off. “You will have a home. You will be safe; your children will be safe. By morning, a house will be found further down this path. It’ll show itself to you and protect you. Hunters won’t ever see it.” _

_ “What is the price to pay for it?” _

_ “You grant anyone who comes by a place to stay. It’ll only let witches or demons see it, no non-magical beings will find it unless they’re pure of heart. Let it be a safe haven not only for you and your children, but one for all magical beings who need it. Don’t worry about space, the home will adjust to it.” _

_ “Do I have to stay there forever?” _

_ The demon shook her head, “No. Stay there as long as you want, or as short as you’d like.” _

_ “My son and his friends, they’ll keep you company for the night,” A slight rustle in the forest, caught their attention and a young girl riding on the back of a wolf came into view. The young girl looked nothing like the demons, she almost looked like human.  _

_ Anarka _ _ wondered if the demons had more than two forms – maybe they had a human form too, which would mean they could have been walking among those in the village this whole time. She watched as the young girl climbed off of the wolf’s back and walked attentively towards her, holding out a small bag towards her. _

_ “Food, for you and your children. I’ll send my wife by to give you more food until it’s safe for you to enter the village again,” The demon says, going to pet the wolf. “This is my wife, Nathalie.” _

_ The wolf then transforms into a woman who was slightly taller than the blond demon, she looked human too. Blue eyes looking towards the witch, she gives a small nod in greeting. Her short black hair, showing streaks of red throughout it. _

_ “Thank you,” She says, smiling at the two women and the small girl as she takes hold of the bag. Taking a quick glance towards her children, she smiles as she sees them still asleep – the animals curled around them, eyes closed and asleep with them. There was hope in her chest, they were going to make it out of this. She didn’t believe the demon to be lying to her.  _

Chloe was sitting on his bed, her hand holding his gently in her own as she painted his nails. Rose was doing the same with  Juleka . It was nice and peaceful, the soft playing of piano lifting off from the music room, indicating that Adrien at the very least was there.  Kagami and  Alya decided to leave for town to meet up with  Marinette a few hours ago, aided by his mother.

“I think Nino likes Ayla,” Chloe says off handily as she dips the brush back into the bottle, “At the very least has a crush on her.”

“He won’t do anything about it,”  Juleka comments, “How long did it take for him to ask out  Marinette ? Months.”

“Nino and  Marinette dated?” Rose asks, her hand stilling in movement before going back to painting her girlfriend’s nails.

“No.  Marinette didn’t like him like that,” Chloe answers, waving her hands over the top of Luka’s and watching as the nails glow slightly. “S-”

A loud  _ thud _ of the door startled the group, and they climbed off the bed quickly when they heard running footsteps.

“Luka!  Juleka !”  Marinette’s voice cries out, fear in her voice causing them to run into the living area where  Marinette was. 

Her dark blue hair was messy and out of its usual pigtails, there was a few small cuts on her cheek with blood falling slowly down it, but that wasn’t the biggest issue. Nino was helping Harmony hold up a woman with long blonde hair.  Kagami and  Alya looked worried, there was so much fear in their faces as they kept looking at her. All of them had varying cuts along their bodies, Nino only let's go when they’re laying her down on the couch, and Harmony starts working on the wounds that the older woman seems to have suffered.

“Where’s Adrien?”  Kagami asks, and Rose tells her the music room, and both  Kagami and Ayla go towards the room. While Chloe is going to grab the first aid box, all the animals in the house were whimpering quietly, sensing their Witch’s high emotions.

“Kim, Marc and  Nathainel are helping Max keep watch for Gabriel and Lila, they’re just outside on the right side of the border. I don’t think they’re going to go away until we’re all dead.”  Marinette says, and there was a sadness in her eyes as she looks at him, her eyes darting between him and his sister. A tear falls down her cheek, and he noticed – she didn’t mention his mother, nor was she with them.

“W-Where is our mother?”  Juleka manages to squeak out, the question he is too scared to ask himself.

“Gabriel hit her with a laced arrow head,” Nino answers, “S-She wouldn’t let us stay behind to help her. Told us to get here, do not stop.”

“Who is this?” Luka manages to ask, looking at the other witches in the room. His eyes going past Rose, and he notices tears forming in her eyes, her hand holding on tightly to  Juleka who had tears brimming her eyes – and he is sure he has some of his own.

“We don’t know,” Harmony answers, giving a thankful nod towards Chloe when she handed her the first aid kit. “She tried to slow down Gabriel and Lila, but Lila shot her with her arrow and threw something at the woman’s feet that exploded into dust, there was nails in it too.”

“A wolf then came out of the forest, snarling at the pair – giving us time to grab her,” Nino adds on.

“ Alya and  Kagami , they’ve been in shock since – we think they know who this is. Kim had to shake them out of their shock so we could run back here. We ran as fast as we could, I’ve sent a message to my parents, they’re going to find your mother. Hopefully, they can save her,”  Marinette tells them, “If they can – they'll try and bring her here, but Gabriel and Lila, they’ve recruited people for a witch hunt. It’ll be hard.”

“ Marinette , I’ll clean you up.  Juleka , you help Nino with his cuts,” Chloe says, gesturing for  Marinette and Nino to sit down in a chair – which the witches do, and lets the girls fix them up.

It went quiet between them all, they’re all scared – while they’ve always known and  _ feared _ Witch Hunters, it’s never been to this extreme before. There was no  _ proof _ they were Witches, but apparently that wasn’t stopping them from hunting them down. After a few minutes, Max, Marc, Nathaniel and Kim came into the home – they too had scratches, and Chloe and  Juleka set to helping, with  Marinette and Nino’s help, as they did every familiar went outside as if to guard the place.

No one really said anything more, as they didn’t know what  _ to _ say. They heard footsteps coming from the hallway, and turned their heads towards Adrien,  Alix , Ayla and  Kagami who were coming into the room.  Alix ,  Alya and  Kagami’s eyes were carefully watching Adrien as they walk around to stand next to where Harmony was still working on the woman.

“Mum,” Heartbroken clearly there in that one word that came from Adrien as he drops to his knees in front of his mother, he wants to yell at Harmony who was touching his mother, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so as he knew she was working on healing the wounds. Her breathing was very shallow, he could barely tell that she was. Tears were falling from his eyes, as he reached for her hand. He could feel a hand rest gently on his shoulder, he sees  Alix looking at him with tears in their eyes, and they sit next to him, and he rest his head on their shoulder.

He could see Luka working on cleaning up  Alya and  Kagami’s wounds, the  _ Man _ was coming after them harder than ever before now. Adrien wanted to know, he can’t keep living like this – he's heard the stories of life before the almost yearly hunting of him and his friends. Hunters would come by with  _ years _ between their visits, but – for almost twenty years they’ve been happening pretty much yearly, and no one will tell the young ones anything.

“I’ve done what I can,” Harmony says after a while, “Her pulse is weak, but I don’t know what else to do.”

Hours later, the sun had set and everyone was sitting around the table eating food. His mother was set up in a room,  Kagami was with her now along with  Marinette – they had told him he needed to eat, so here he was with Luka on one side of him and  Alya on the other. No one felt safe going to their own home, and Adrien doesn’t blame them. Hunters were out there, and they probably wouldn’t care if they were Non-Magical, Witches or Demons – they would take who they could get their hands on.

“...We might just have to  _ kill _ them,” Harmony spoke, laying down a harsh truth that some of the people around aren’t happy to hear. They were talking about a plan on what to do about the Hunters, because they all couldn’t just  _ live _ here for the rest of their lives – that would be one very sheltered life, one Adrien wouldn’t wish upon his enemies, let alone his friends. 

“We can’t just  _ do _ that Harmony,” Marc protests as he gathered more food onto his plate, “ _ You _ guys especially can’t.”

“He’s right Harms,”  Juleka says, “We’ll just prove the other hunters  _ right _ , that we are dangerous.”

“Well right now, I don’t  _ care _ !” Voice raising as Harmony stabs the meat on her plate, “I’ve had it! Gabriel took my brother from me, took  Anarka away most likely too. I’m sorry, but it’s true. I’ve seen what that arrow can  _ do _ .”

Luka reaches over to place a hand on top of Harmony’s hand, giving it a small squeeze in comfort, “Deep breath Harmony,” Luka says calmly, the girl nods her head slightly and takes in a deep breath, slowly letting it out.

“Sorry, I was out of line but he’s dangerous,” Harmony apologises, eyes looking towards Luka and  Juleka , who were on either side of her. “I think he hunts demons too. My friends Lou and Travis, from my old village, they stole one of his books. It was  _ riddled _ with information about demons. How to hunt them, how to kill them.”

“You...  _ by chance _ don’t still happen to have the book, do you?”  Alya questions, curiosity on her lips as she asks the simple question – in which he hopes the rest of their newly made friends don’t overthink the question.

“I do, but... it’s at my home, in the village,” Adrien sees  Alya’s face falter slightly at the answer. If it was  _ there _ , it means they couldn’t get their answers that they were desperate for. “It’s hidden, under my bed in a box that you can only get into with this.” Harmony lifts the chain that was resting at her neck, where a little charm of a broken wheel hung. 

Adrien thought it was smart, hiding a  _ key _ in something that doesn’t look like it’s meant to be a key. It would make it harder to get into something.

“If we can’t kill them what are we going to do?” Max asks, looking around the table before sighing and looking back down at his food.

They all fell silent, and quietly ate.

Unable to sleep, Luka got out of his bed, grabbing his guitar before walking outside. Playing his guitar at night, as he sat outside was very calming for him – he felt that the moon was a nice presence to be under. He had been plucking a few chords when a black cat came from around the back of the house, pausing in its footsteps when it spotted Luka. Green eyes bright looking at Luka as he continued to strum a light tune. It was sad notes playing how he had been feeling ever since everyone had walked into his home.

He had never really been the kind to  _ talk _ about his feelings, he was better expressing them by playing his guitar – but words were never really his strongest suit when it came to his own feelings. The cat, who Luka assumes might be Chat walks over to him, nudging his head softly on Luka’s neck before, confirming Luka’s suspicion when the cat turned into the demon.

Shoulders hanging low as he seems to make himself small, his hands coming to play with the tail that is sitting in his lap. “I just want some company, can I?” Chat asks, his voice quiet as he asks Luka.

“Of course. Do you mind if I keep playing?” 

Shaking his head, Chat says, “No, the song you’re playing is nice, even if it sounded sad.”

“I tend to play my emotions,” Luka informs, fingers playing the soft tune, “I’m not good with voicing my sad or angry emotions, but I can’t bottle them up, so I  _ play  _ them instead.”

The pair sat there for a while, listening to Luka play when a fox came running past the boarder with a box in their mouth. Frowning, Luka is confused by the fox – foxes didn’t really come around this side of the forest. Or near this village, he’s heard the stories from Ivan and  Mylene the one time they visited them. He also didn’t know foxes who steal things from people, the fox passed the boarder and a wolf runs past them – but it looks like it was deliberately moving its self as far from the house as it ran close to the edge of the path before disappearing into the forest.

The fox walks up to them, before turning into a demon with flowing orange hair, fox ears and tail. Tips of  her ears and tail,  coloured white, and her mask like marking on the face matching the colour scheme of her h ai r, with orange being the main part, with it fading out to a white. She was tanner then Chat or himself – if he had to think of someone, it was very close to  Alya’s skin tone, where the part of the mask and her clothing are showing what would be ‘human’ like skin. Much like Chat, her fingers were coloured, but her fingers went with her own colour scheme. An orange jacket, and tight white pants. The box in her hands instead of her mouth now.

“Chat?”

“Rena?”

“What are you doing out here?” Rena questions, and Chat stood up.

“I could ask the same, you aren’t meant to be out  _ alone _ , neither of us are. Not past the forest line,” Chat replies, but encases Rena in a hug, of which she returns before pulling away. “You risked yourself! Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come with you.”

“And have your Mama growl at me? No.  Ryuko and  Bunnyx knew,” Rena says in reply, “We need this, you know it. It was a risk, but we can’t wait for your Mama to visit us,  _ if _ she visits us. She’s keeping Gabriel and Lila at bay.”

And with that, it was like he and Lila were summoned as they were running, as if chasing something, but everyone noticed as their running came to slow down. 

“Everyone inside!” Luka whispers, standing himself up and motioning for the pair to follow him. Worry was starting to eat at him, Hunters have never been  _ this _ close to his home without just running or walking straight past it. He kept his eye on the two Hunters who were looking around.

“Let’s go back to camp, we don’t know what’s in that part of the forest,” Lila’s voice comments, lowering the bow and arrow she was holding.

“I  _ will _ get my son, and then I’ll burn down the forest,” Gabriel replies but with a sigh, turns around to head back the way they had come from.

Rena, Chat and Luka had been slowly making their way back to the home. When they got inside a scream could be heard. Others were coming out of their rooms, worried as everyone was awoken by the scream – and Luka was quick on his feet to see what was going on, moving himself into the room. He could hear the footsteps of others behind him. 

The scream had sounded as if it had come from the room in which they had set up Adrien’s mother. Walking into the room, he noticed as  Marinette in the corner looking very startled – eyes blown wide as she stared at the woman on the bed. The woman who Harmony was hovering over, muttering under be breath, a spell most likely.

Something Luka noticed was how her body was flickering, if he squinted hard enough, he would almost say it was as if she were a  _ demon _ , but whatever was going on, never stay long enough for him to get a good look at it. Harmony turns her head slightly, to see Luka there and something flashes in her eyes and he turns his head to see that the two demons where just behind him before looking back at Harmony, he was about to say something, that they were  _ nice _ \- why would the house let them in if they weren’t but Harmony beat him to it, “Luka... I need a way to get to my home. We  _ need _ that book... Whatever Lila threw at her; it was made for a demon and it was potent.”

“It’s dang-”

Rena stepped forward, holding out the box that she had towards Harmony, who looked at it and then carefully looked at the pair of demons. “Thanks...”

“Rena,” The demon supplies with a smile towards Harmony.

“This, I hope has a counter potion in it, otherwise we’re screwed because I don’t think these demons  _ know _ of any. Only select demons would have learnt, healer demons.” Harmony comments, placing the box on the edge of the bed. “But, from my last read of the book, I remember it saying they were  _ rare _ .”

“ _ I told you not to use it!” _ Gabriel yells out, everyone else they had gathered were fast asleep, and now he was laying into Lila for her  _ tricks _ early this day.

“Look, Gabriel, we needed her  _ wounded _ , otherwise we can’t find the home she set up for my uncle’s killers,  _ and _ your son,” Lila retorts back, calm as she polishes a few arrows with more poison. “It took us _ this _ long to even figure out that your demon of an  _ ex _ is protecting those stupid witches. We can’t risk waiting that long again just for her to what? Die? And her magic fail?”

Sighing Gabriel runs his hand over his face, “I know, I just wish we could have gotten her before  _ they _ did.”

“I think the wolf was a demon, it was smart, and it protected the witches and that demon,” Lila replies, looking over at Gabriel. “We’ll find your son, and I’ll get my revenge on those who killed my uncle.”

“It’s getting late, we should sleep,  _ they _ mustn't know about my son, I hadn’t known she was a demon at the time,” Lila nods her head, and packs up her weapons, laying them carefully on the ground. “Goodnight Lila.”

“Goodnight Gabriel.”

It’s been almost a month since everyone took refuge in the Magic  Couffaine House, every few days Rena would come by and take letters to and from town, using the forest to take her to their families to return the letters, and have a few come back. Anarka was alright, injured and worried about her children, but the Dupain-Cheng's were keeping her safe. The  _ Roisin Herbs _ shop had been broken into and set on fire a few days after Rena had taken the box. Tom and Sabine’s letter had said it was the work of Gabriel, who was searching for something and asking for Harmony. Witch hunters were loud around the village, making everyone fear for their safety – which is why Marc, Nathniel and Kim’s parents were okay with them staying where they were. They were _ safe _ . Chloe has been worrying about the safety of her girlfriend, but Rena tells her when she goes past the home, she is safe and has passed on the letters.

Harmony, with the help of Kagami and  Marinette are looking over the book together, trying to figure out how to help the woman out. He’s noticed the days after Rena run her task, Alya curled up on Nino’s lap as he or Marc tell stories, or Alix or Kim joining in on their impromptu story times.  Juleka and Rose have been helping Nathaniel by posing so he is able to better himself, while Max tries to piece together why Gabriel is exactly after demons as well as witches, and why Lila maybe after Luka and his family specifically. Max would often go over his information with Harmony,  Marinette and Kagami. Luka? Well Luka spends a lot of his time in the music room, or outside playing his guitar, and Adrien doesn’t blame him and often just goes to listen to the other play the music. It was relaxing and took him off his mother in the shape that she was, and that he can’t find just  _ wanting _ to be around Luka. Luka made him feel calm, and listened too – even if neither uttered a word. Sometimes, he wasn’t always as  _ Adrien _ , when he was in Luka’s company, but he likes it because in any form – he is treated the same way, with the same kindness. A lot of the time, at night he and Luka would stay up talking, or just making music together – so much, that they’d end up falling asleep. If he was in  _ demon _ form, he’d always switch into his cat form and curl himself up close to Luka’s chest.

Right now, though? Luka was sitting in the grass, leaning back on one hand and letting the other run through Adrien’s hair as they soaked up the sun, there was a  _ different _ form Adrien would prefer to be in to lay in the sun in, but – this will do. His head was laying in Luka’s lap as his fingers ran through blond locks and a soft hum fell from the blue haired male. A  _ purring _ softly sounded from Adrien as he felt his eyes closing, the movement in his hair and the warmth of the sun making him very sleepy. 

Hearing a light chuckle, Adrien pries an eye open to look at Luka who had a huge smile on his face – and  _ god _ he wished he could look at it forever. “What?”

“Nothing, you just _ purred _ it seemed,” Luka comments, fingers twirling in Adrien’s hair, “It didn’t sound much like a hum more cat like. Not that I mind, it’s  _ cute _ .”

Closing the  eye, he had opened, he hopes his face isn’t going red, he wanted to say something to continue the conversation but he doesn’t get the chance when the front door to the home slams open, and  Marinette and Harmony come running out.

“Chat!” A voice from the forest calls out, worry lining their voice – a voice he recognises and he is quick to his feet. “Rena! Ryuko!  Bunnyx ! Rosella!”

The source of the voice comes stumbling out of the forest and holding her side was Nathalie, her wolf ears and tail down to show her hurt and worry. The grey suit staining red with her blood, and covering her grey and red fingers, fear filling Adrien’s eyes as he took in the sight.

“Shit!” He heard Harmony yell before running over to her, wrapping her arm around Nathalie to help hold her up. “Marinette, open the door – then get Max, Nino and Chloe to put up protection spells and you and Juleka to put an alarm up, I’ll need Luka to help me, the one on this house is failing. Luka, Adrien get inside! No one is allowed outside.”

“There she is! Get her!” Gabriel’s voice yells out, and they watched as he crashed into the boarder of the house with Lila by his side, her bow and arrow ready to fire. “Why can’t I get further?” Eyes scanning around, they land on Adrien, and go wide. “You tell that  _ wife _ of yours to let me have my  _ son!” _

_ “Never _ , you disgusting filth!” Nathalie spat out, glaring at Gabriel and Lila. “Boys, get inside, this girl is right. Everyone  _ in _ .”

Adrien nodded his head before grabbing hold of Luka’s hand and following Harmony, who was holding Nathalie in,  Marinette was the last to come in, shutting the door before running off to tell everyone of their tasks. He hadn’t realised he was holding tightly onto Luka’s hand until he looked down when Luka indicated that he needed it.

“You know where the first aid kit is? Adrien? Can you please get it? Adrien!” Harmony almost snaps at him, and he nods his head before running off to get it. When he gets back into the living room where Harmony had set Nathalie down, he hands her the box and watches as Luka and Harmony work together to patch her up.

He was feeling numb inside, the words that Gabriel said  _ running _ through his mind – the fact that both his mothers were in danger, and hurt. “Adrien, Kagami and Alix are with your mother. She’s safe, but... we’ll talk once... what is your name?”

“Nathalie.” She answers, wincing when Harmony places the liquid on the wound – eyes glowing bright blue in reaction.

“Once Nathalie has had a rest,” Harmony informs, before giving a glare at the older woman who was about to protest, “No. You’re resting for at least an hour, and if I have to put a sleeping spell on you, I will.”

“She will,” Luka comments, and Adrien nods his head. He remembers the first few nights he didn’t want to stay away from his mother too much, or go to sleep in fear he’d miss her waking up, that he didn’t go to sleep even when everyone had told him too. He had been warned, but still – he didn’t, and Harmony resorted to putting him to sleep for a good eight hours. Though, she was nice and let him sleep in his mother’s room.

A few hours later, there were protection spells around the house and ones to help alert them if anyone who didn’t need to be got too close. Nathalie was sitting at the table, with Harmony next to her, and Adrien was on her other side. “How far have you gotten with saving Adrien’s mother?” Nathalie asks, looking towards Harmony.

“We figured out that the potion Lila used, was one meant for demons – with the added bonus of  _ nails _ for us witches and humans. Me and Max narrowed it down to this one, in which the cure requires the blood of a Fox, Cat, Wolf, Rabbit and Dragon demon,” Harmony answers, and Max nods his head.

“Gabriel has a demon son, that is what we think is going on,” Max adds, “That’s why he had the book in the first place. Lila, we can’t place her though.”

“He does,” Nathalie says turning to look at Adrien flashing a brief smile before looking back at the rest of the group around the table, Chloe was on watching Adrien’s mother duty until Harmony was done eating, Luka, Juleka and Nino were finishing putting all the food onto the table before sitting themselves down too, “ _ Chat _ , my son – mine and my wife’s son. We wanted a kid, and Emilie had been found him _ charming _ , and thought he was one to be the father. She has no issue with  _ men _ , I do. So, she dated him briefly, and once she knew she was pregnant she wanted to break it off gently with him, but she couldn’t bear to do it. She had also fallen for him. Her love for me wasn’t any less. I knew she could fall for more than one person, but telling him she was a demon? That was even harder.

“It came by when she started showing, demons can’t switch into their human form for long when pregnant and one time, Gabriel followed her, after she said she had to go home. He found the forest, and Emilie couldn’t hold it any longer, and her demon form showed. Gabriel got  _ mad _ , I was scared he was going to raise a hand to her, so I stepped in before he could even think about it. We never heard from him again until a year later, when he came to the forest – asking for his child. Said he had something for them.

“So, Emilie went down to visit him. I did too, but I was in my wolf form at her feet. At the time, he didn’t know we had animal forms – just that it was a rumour to him. She had Chat in her arms, his little fingers grabbing at the necklace she wore around her neck. It was a cute sight. It went by smoothly, she introduced them to each other, even offered a place in our home for Gabriel. Non-Magical people  _ do _ live in the forest, if we believe they won’t ever harm us or witches. She had handed him to Gabriel, and... he tried to force a potion down his throat.

“It would  _ neutralise _ his powers, make him essentially non magical and force a human form. I got mad, and bit his leg. You don’t  _ ever _ make a choice for a demon. Gabriel was going to steal Chat, when I bit him, he fell and Emilie was quick to save Chat, and Gabriel was knocked out as a smoke emitted and encased him. He was going to use a stunning potion on us, and take Chat with him. I don’t want to think what would have happened to him had I not bitten Gabriel. I think he would have continued to feed Chat the potion until he was 21.”

“Twenty-one?” Nathainel questions, as he looks at the woman.

“Twenty-one in the book states, that at the age of twenty-one a demon may choose to stay in their animal form forever, or human – losing all their magical abilities, by staying in that form from the hours of eleven pm on the night of their birthday, till one am of the next day,” Max  recites , and Nathalie nods her head, and so does Harmony.

“When is Chat’s birthday?” Marinette questions.

“In a month. It’s why Gabriel has been getting  _ harsher _ , and more frantic. He’s running out of time. And, I’m sorry, I’m the reason for Lila. I killed her  _ uncle _ ,” Nathalie says, her eyes looking towards  Juleka and Luka who were sitting next to each other. “Your _ father _ , she wants to kill you because she believes one of you two or your mother killed your father, but I did. We demons, we protect witches. Chat and his friends actually found you two and your mother. They were playing, but stopped to comfort you two as you slept. My wife, saddened by the news that your father had run you guys out had set up this home for you. But she’s been badly injured and it’s effecting the protection spells she had put up.”

It’s quiet in the room, Nathalie was with Harmony in his mother’s room. The piano was sitting right in front of him, the lid open – fingers hovering over the keys. He wants to play, but he can’t bring it in himself to play the keys – nor does he even know what he wanted to play. Alya and Kagami had come by earlier, offering him words of support, and hinting that Rena might be bringing a friend with her on this trip into town. It would be the last one for a long time, or until Gabriel stops is crusade. He is sure everyone else in the house has gone to sleep. He watches as his fingers flicker from the human flesh colour to black and green, and back again as he can’t hold his emotions back anymore without it interfering with his human form. A soft knock on the door pulls him out of his little trance, he looks up and see’s Luka there who had two cups of what looked like hot tea.

“I brought you some tea. How are you feeling?” Luka asks, walking over to him and placing the two drinks on top of the piano, sitting himself next to Adrien.

“I don’t know. So  _ many _ things... It hurts in here,” Adrien replies,  lifting his hand to point at his heart and he could feel tears pooling at his eyes. “In the span of a month, I’ve seen both of my  mothers hurt, and, I might be losing my mother. I don’t know how to deal with it. I...”

Luka pulls him into a hug as a sob leaves his lips, he feels arms tight, but loose around him – holding onto him, and he wraps his arms around Luka in return, burying his head into the crook of the witch’s neck as he cries. He can feel his form flicker as his surge of emotions is pouring out of him. The human form is one of the most unnatural forms for a demon, and one that is harder to keep up especially with  heightened emotions conflicting inside of a demon. Feeling his tail wrap itself around Luka’s waist, Adrien is afraid to pull away and look the other in the eye. He can’t hide it anymore, and in weeks' time? When his birthday comes – he really can’t then, he doesn’t want to stay forever in his human or cat form, he likes having the freedom to be either cat, demon or human like. Luka’s fingers gently run through his hair, and brush against his ears – they only seem to stall once, before continuing on with the movement.

By the time that he  _ does _ pull away, he can’t bring himself to shift back – nor to look at Luka in the eye, so he goes to keep his eyes trained on his fingers. "Luka I...”

“If you were going to say sorry,  _ please _ do not,” Luka speaks softly as he gently places his fingers under Adrien – Chat's chin, to make them looking eye level. “I kind of suspected, and today, with Nathalie honestly only confirmed it. Her human form, used to bring us food. It was  easy to piece it together. I’m guessing, your friends are demons too?”

Giving a nod in response, Chat adds, “Yes. We all are. Demons... we come to this house in human form only. Mother said we had too, as to not scare any witches or non-magical beings. It was a rule for us demons, that if we were to seek shelter here – it had  to be as our human form only.”

“Does that mean I’ve actually meet demons before I meet you?” The  curiosity in Luka’s voice was slightly amusing. Witches and Non-Magical beings were often  _ blinded _ by the rumours of the bad things of demons, so Adrien-Chat took no offence to the question.

A soft laugh leaves the Cat-Demon's lips, and is okay with the slight de-tour the conversation is going, “Yes. Many, probably half and half, witches and demons who have come by, or Non-Magical's who have been granted passage through the forest. In  fact, ... wait, no, not for me to say. Yeah, not for me to say.”

Luka frowned his brows slightly, and  _ God, that looks so cute, he looks cute confused _ passed through the demon’s mind, a light smile spreading across his lips. It went silent between them before Luka spoke up, “Were going to play something?”

“I don’t know,” He answers, thankful that Luka isn’t trying to pry on what he had meant. It’s an honest answer, he came in here to play but what? He wasn’t sure at all. “I just... me and my mum, we would often play piano together. It’s a comfort thing for me, but right now – it's also, scary to play because what if the last time I played with her, that was my last time? I want to know if she’ll make it, but we can’t know that. I know Harmony and Max are good, but my mind is also telling me the  _ worse _ , and the fact that _ my existence _ is the sole reason Gabriel has been terrorising my home basically since I was born. You know, Hunters never really went into the forest to hunt us, before I was born. And if they had, it would be years apart – but, it had been happening yearly.

“And now, I guess I know why. That is probably why my  mothers never wanted to tell me and my friends why he was doing he what he was,” Letting out a soft sigh, Adrien pulls down the lid of the piano and grabbing the cup Luka had placed onto top of the piano. “Can I... I like sleeping next to you, it’s been calming.”

“You want to do that?” Luka asks, and Adrien gives a small nod of his head, smiling a little when Luka does. “Okay. You can do that in either form, I don’t mind.”

They talk for a while longer, drinking their tea before they climbed into Luka’s bed, with Adrien curling into Luka’s chest – Luka draping an arm around the blond to hold him close.

Over the next month, a group of  Witch Hunters set themselves up outside of the  Couffaine house – Lila and Gabriel taking a spot at the front,  _ ready _ to burst through once that barrier came down. It was becoming weaker, and the hunters could see past it – could see the witches that lived there, with the demons who helped them out. Harmony and Max worked on the potion together, with the help of Kagami, Adrien, Alya and Nathalie’s blood, as well as Alix’s - Rose had wanted to give her blood, but Alix had beat her out. They had confessed to everyone that they were demons, that needed shelter, that Adrien’s mother had told them about this place.

The potion that was meant to fix the damage caused by the one Lila had thrown at Emilie, was going to be ready by the end of the day. Which would be a great birthday present for Adrien, and is honestly the only thing he is wishing for. Adrien was curled up on Luka’s chest, fingers drifting across Luka’s chest making small patterns as he moved them. “Luka?” Adrien asks, voice quiet and he doesn’t move to look at the other – just continues to trace patterns, when Luka hums in response, Adrien continues on with what’s been going on in his mind. “I think I  _ like _ you. You do these things and it just; it makes me feel like how my mums would describe they feel for each other. I know, I’m a demon, and you -”

“Adrien, I like you too,” Luke cuts of Adrien in the gentlest way that he could, moving his hand to grab hold of Adrien’s before bringing it up to his lips, where he presses a soft kiss to the knuckles.

Adrien moves his head, so he’s looking at Luka who is smiling at him, and Adrien couldn’t help but smile back at him. He was about to lean in to kiss Luka when a scream rippled through household. Everyone jumping to their feet, demons shifting to their demon form before running outside.

Outside, Gabriel and Lila were storming towards the house, the barriers were down too much and Luka hated to think what that would mean for Emilie. “Harmony? How much longer?”  Marinette asks, looking at the green haired witch next to her.

“Ten minutes. Ten more minutes, then I can give it to her,” Harmony says, “Hold them off for that long, and it should be fine. Everyone, surround the house. Humans, stay inside the house. No and or ifs, or buts. Now!”

Marinette nodded her head, “Alternate, Witch, Demon and two feet apart. That should hold fit us around the house.”

Everyone nodded their heads and went where they were instructed to do so. Spells, punches and balls of energy were thrown around. They were fighting for their lives, covered in sweat he felt something sharp pierce his leg, and he let out a scream in pain, falling to the ground. 

Looking at the culprit, he saw Lila with a smirk upon her lips, she approached him and crouched down to look at him. He watched as she moved her hand towards his leg, where an arrow was embedded, before she pulls it out causing him to yell out in pain again. She must have laced it with something, because he was slowly losing feeling in his body, unable to move. The arrow head, bloody now pointing just above his heart and he just  _ waited _ for the impact as he closed his eyes, but it didn’t come.

But, he heard a growl and Lila scream out in pain, which made Luka open his eyes to see Lila holding her arm that had clearly been bitten by the wolf, by  _ Nathalie _ who was standing between him and Lila.

Lila was about to step forward when a big bright green beam flew out from the house, and Lila screams out, “NO! She was  supposed to _ die! _ You weren’t  supposed to find the cure, dragon demons are so  _ rare _ .”

She tried to charge forward, but was stopped by an energy pulse that pushed all the witch hunters  _ out _ . They did it, they... Luka blacked out.

Luke woke up on his bed, his head hurt badly and so did his leg. A black cat was curled on his chest, he lifted his hand to pet it, and smiled when it perked at the touch and watching as it shifted into Adrien who accidently hit his leg in the process, causing Luka to hiss out in pain.

Adrien’s green eyes went wide as he scrambled off of Luka, only knocking his leg  _ again _ , “Sorry. Sorry. I didn’t think that through.”

“Is our patient awake?” Harmony asks as she walks into the room, with Emilie behind her. Emilie was looking much better now. She didn’t look deathly  pale; she was in the human form and she looked so much like Adrien. 

“How long was I out?”

“Two days,” Emilie provided, going over to sit on the edge of the bed, giving Luka a smile, “Lila laced the arrow with poison lethal for witches, but we got you in time. You’ll deal with headaches for two months, so don’t use too much energy or it could go on longer. Your mother is coming home tomorrow. Nathalie is wanting to make sure the Hunters are gone. Adrien dear, I’m taking these kids home, will you be fine here?” She says addressing her son, with what could be deemed a  _ knowing _ smile. Adrien nods his head, “I’ll tell  Juleka you’re awake.”

Harmony said a quick see you later, before following Emilie out of the room, and Adrien takes the spot his mother had been in before. Luka sits himself up, going to link his hand with Adrien’s, bringing it to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

“Can I... kiss you?” Adrien asks, and Luka gives his answer by giving a small nod of his head. With a smile, Luka leaned as much as he could forward to meet Adrien halfway. Lips meeting in a soft kiss, it was short but it made both of them smile like idiots when they pulled away. “We’ll have to figure a few things out, but... I like this.”

“Me too.” Luka says giving a small squeeze of Adrien’s hand.

**Author's Note:**

> [the demon look inspiration ](https://www.instagram.com/p/CEbV3VkgipF/)
> 
> [harmony’s hair](https://wiildhcartsrun.tumblr.com/post/629687017093185536/green-haired-kat)


End file.
